DAVOS, Jan 23: President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday that recent turmoil in Pakistan showed that a “political mutant” of extremism was stalking the region.

“I am sure that the events of the past few weeks in Pakistan have caused tremendous distress in many corners of the world. It seems like the mutant of extremism is dangerously unleashed across the region,” Mr Karzai said.

“The terrorism we are fighting is a political mutant, a Frankenstein, created through the folly of short-sighted policy for the reckless pursuit of misperceived interests,” he told the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.

“It is a venomous snake that some among us tried to nurture and befriend at the expense of others, which I hope we now realise was a mistake.”

Stressing the need to strike at the sources of financing for extremist groups as well as their recruiting networks, Mr Karzai said it was time for regional neighbours to step up to the plate.

“Governments in the region need to move beyond rhetoric and stop to seek the pursuit of interests in the use of extremist politics,” he said.—AFP